uncle sam

Going to Normandy in late May and cannot determine best place to stay to see these WWII sites. Any opinions?<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR><BR>US

StCirq

I think Bayeux makes the best base for visiting the D-Day beaches and museums. Caen is too big and unattractive a city, and Honfleur, while lovely, is too far away. We stayed at the ch&acirc;teau de la Bellefontaine in Bayeux and thought it was stellar, but there are other good places as well. Be sure to see the tapestry and the M&eacute;morial museum in Caen, the smaller museum in Arromanches, and of course the beaches themeselves. An unforgettable part of France and history.

Rex

I thought Arromanches was pretty good on our trip to Normandy this past September (2002). Bayeux would offer more variety - - and of course, Arromanches was the center for the British landing forces, not American.<BR><BR>We stayed the night before near Mont St Michel, and proceeded east by way of visiting Ste. Mere l'Eglise (Airborne Museum), Pointe du Hoc and the American cemetery at Colleville.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

mimi taylor

Hi , we went without reservations in a summer season without reservations and <BR>and found hotels, B&amp;Bs along the way where we decided we wanted to stay. Courseul sur Mer was a place we stopped for lunch and the people were so nice (is a place I would have considered had I known about it.)

Andrew

I visited Normandy and the beaches in September 2002. I spent three nights - the first two in Bayeux and the last in Caen. I took the train from Paris to Caen and rented a car in Caen. <BR><BR>Bayeux makes a great base for visiting the American beaches. It's not far from Omaha Beach. On the downside, I found Bayeux, while with a taste of &quot;old town charm&quot;, to be quite boring after dark when the locals seem to go home. Good luck getting a meal after 21:30.<BR><BR>Caen, on the other hand, is much bigger and more lively. It's more modern than Bayeux (and a university town) because it was re-built after being bombed out after WWII. But Le Memorial (excellent WWII museum) is there and there are a couple of old Abbey's, too. Even a horse track. In retrospect, I wish I'd spent two nights in Caen and only one in Bayeux. But Caen is another 15-20 miles from Omaha Beach.<BR><BR>Arromanches is worth a visit but I doubt I'd stay there unless you want something *very* quiet and remote. Much smaller than Bayeux.<BR><BR>If you do stay in Bayeux, I'd recommend the Hotel Mogador. It's a very simple place - nothing fancy - but quite comfortable, clean, small, modestly priced, and located near the center of town. This was one of Rick Steves' recommendations.<BR><BR>If you are really interested in the D-Day sites, I recommend at least browsing through &quot;Normandy Landing Beaches&quot; - a Major &amp; Mrs. Holts<BR>Battlefield Guide. I got this out of the library in Portland; it is an excellent guide to all the D-Day sites in Normandy.<BR><BR>Andrew<BR>

yyy

That's brilliant, Mimi, thanx for the recommendations about the people who were so nice, but I think the poster was looking for concrete suggestions for places to Spend The Night - not &quot;we winged it&quot; recos.

StCirq

We didn't have a problem getting fed in Bayeaux after 21:30, though I admit that was about the latest we went looking for dinner. We liked Le Petit Normand a lot - unexpectedly met some Fodorites there. Granted, it's not a big town - if you want nightlife you would be better off in Cean. Both are equally accessible to the museums and beaches.

TheobaldThe Great

Mimi, your suggetestions are precious, but useless for people who want concrete information. You're the weakest link....bye bye!!

JOdy

We just got back last week from Normandy. Stayed at a wonderful old mill house in Le Vey , south of Caen. Had no problems driving to Honfleur, Caen,Cancale, Mont st michel,bayeaux,Arromanches and numerous other places.<BR><BR>We did half board, in a deluxe room...very clean ,antique furniture mixed in, very nice staff..breakfast and 5 course dinner included for 180 Euros a night. Typical French breakfast ..baguette, croissant..the best I've ever had and that includes paris..juice ,cereal. Great cheese board and VERY reasonable wine list.dinner is a set menu , but if you didn't like a particular thing they'd change it for you. I don't particularlly care for pigeon so they did wonderful salt marsh lamb chops for me one night.<BR><BR>Our room was right above the mill wheel and the sound of the river and the wheel are very soothing after a long day.<BR><BR>Nothing to do at night, though , if that bothers you. we leave the hotel right after breakffast and don't get back until 5 or 5:30..just in time for a nap, a bath and dinner and then hit the sack to get ready for the next day!<BR><BR>email me if you want further info

ttt

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lynn

We stayed out in the country at a horse farm, not too far from Bayeux (closest town, Villers Bocage) at a Gites-de-France property (www.gites-de-france.com). It was very convenient by car to Arromanches, the beaches, Ste. Mere-Eglise, Caen, etc. If night life is a concern, Caen probably is a better bet, but we enjoyed being in the peaceful, scenic surroundings with pleasant hosts.

amy

I think Bayeux would be a lovely place to stay for the entire trip. Great range of accomodation types, useful base for no matter how extensive your touring plans are, and nice range of shopping/eateries. <BR><BR>In case you would not enjoy that option, we stayed at La Cheneviere, located just outside Port-en-Bessin. This was a very nice facility. Spacious comfortable rooms and very kind staff. We felt the meals here were quite good, too. We would stay there again as long as we had use of a rental car.

topper

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emily

We recently returned from visiting D-Day sites in Normandy, and stayed at the Hotel d'Argouges in Bayeux. I would highly recommend it: good accommodations, very friendly staff, easy walk (10 minutes) to everything in town, parking. From Bayeux, it was easy to take day trips to Arromanches, the beaches, Mont St. Michel, etc. The tapestry was interesting as well.

John

We also stayed at hotel d'Argouges in Bayeux last September. Highly recomend.<BR>email: d'[email protected]

Gina

One more vote for inexpensive but great Hotel d'Argouges in Bayeux <BR>We spent there two nights in the end of October